Russian media focuses on President Duda's NATO appeal

The NTV channel aired a clip of the address referring to NATO, and the quotes were cited by news agency RIA Novosti.

“We need more guarantees from NATO,” the incoming president said on Thursday.

“Not only do we Poles, but the whole of Central and Eastern Europe, which is in a difficult geopolitical situation at present, as you know.

“We need a greater presence of NATO - in this part of Europe, and also in our country.”

Radio station Echo of Moscow, which is considered to be one of the most independent media outlets in Russia, reflected that “for the time being, it cannot be expected that there will be a noticeable improvement in Polish-Russian relations.”

The two countries have been at loggerheads over the Ukrainian crisis, with a string of sanctions and counter-sanctions.

Meanwhile, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung applauded Duda's call for a greater NATO presence in Poland.

“Regardless of how we evaluate the program of the new Polish president, in one regard it's hard to disagree with him: Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries have good reason to feel threatened by Russia,” the FAZ commented.

“It would be good if NATO not only treated these concerns seriously, but put in place a reasonable number of practical steps to stop Russia from further political or even military adventures.” (nh/rk)

Source: PAP/Gazeta Wyborcza